The dangers of powder in surgical gloves

Surgical glove powder can cause the following adverse health effects:

Increased risk of surgical site infections (SSIs)

Glove powder can trigger reduced resistance to infection, bacterial environmental contamination, foreign body reaction, delayed wound healing, adhesion formation and granuloma formation ^1 2. All of these potential consequences can increase the risk of surgical site infection (SSI) ³.

Latex allergy and occupational asthma

Powdered latex gloves have been implicated as the largest single contributor to the latex aeroallergen levels in a healthcare facility ^4  5. Latex proteins can be aerosolized by attaching to glove powder. This not only increases the risk of acquiring a latex allergy, but can also increase the risk of acquiring occupational asthma ⁶ .

Glove powder increases latex allergy sensitization, potentially eliciting delayed hypersensitivity reactions. Powdered surgical gloves show higher levels of natural rubber latex allergens than gloves that are powder-free. This allows for the potential increase in latex sensitization and/or Type I reactions upon direct and indirect contact ^{7  8  9  10  11}

Biogel surgical gloves: powder-free since 1984

Every single Biogel® surgical glove is powder-free, and has been for over 40 years.

Biogel sold the world's first powder-free surgical glove in 1984, and over 40 years later, Biogel is still the only major surgical glove brand with an exclusively powder-free range.